[img:ILBBQ.jpg]LAKE PLACID, ADIRONDACKS USA - The aromas from the pit bosses will once again waft from the Olympic Speed Skating Oval in Lake Placid when the 7th Annual I Love BBQ and Music Festival, benefitting the Thomas Shipman Youth Center in Lake Placid, returns June 29 – July 1.
The I LOVE BBQ Junior World Championships will take place on Saturday, June 30, while Grand Champion and New York State Championship titles will be decided on Sunday, July 1. Paul Smiths College of the
Adirondacks will offer $20,000 in scholarship money for the medal winners in the junior world championships.
All three events are sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbecue Society, which is offering $8,000 in prize money, the most in the history of this event.
The ILBBQF Official Weather Forecast for the weekend is expected to be perfect for grillin' and chillin'.
USA Luge, the national governing body for the sport in the United States, helps support the organization of the annual event as a means of giving back to its home community.
A new pit boss, Danielle Bennett Dimovski, has been added to the 2012 festival program. Known as Diva Q, the resident of Ontario, Canada was the 2011 World Champion of Pork and is widely recognized as one of her country's best. An active competitor and judge, Dimovski has been a guest on the TODAY Show, Rogers Daytime TV in Canada and Canada AM, as well as a recent stint on BBQ Pitmasters on TLC.
Daily admission is $6 for adults; children under 10 will be admitted free of charge.
Festival patrons can sample the many barbecue delicacies during the weekend. There will be a pulled pork tasting event on June 29 from 1-3 PM for $3 per person. A $3 Rib Fest, where the general public can sample the best ribs in the East, will be offered on June 30 from 1-3 PM. It was formerly known as buck-a-rib, and is held in memory of former festival competitor Mike Grudzinskas.
Milano North will sponsor the Top Chef competition on June 30, all day, beginning at 11 AM. This event, featuring local chefs and pit masters, will enable patrons to view a food demo, with tasting to follow. The Top Chef event is dedicated to the memory of former competitor Nancee Gell, who tragically lost her life on New Year's Eve, 2011, as she crossed Route 7 in Shelburne, Vt. Gell was a former Lake Placid Grand Champion.
Live music, including appearances by Heidi Little, Sven Curth, Larry Stone and the Stoneground Express, Dirty Blind (formerly The Pete Jacobs Band) and other local acts will perform over the three days.
Entertainment will also come in the form of the Krusher BMX Stunt Team, with its high-energy BMX bike and in-line skating exhibitions, on June 29-30. There will be a kid's bounce around area and coconut climbing trees as well. And for the first time in festival history, Dynomite will appear in Lake Placid. This mechanical bull ride is sure to be a hit for all ages.
For the benefit of our veterans of the United States military, a mobile vet center, providing readjustment counseling services throughout New York State, will be on site for the entire festival.
In the previous six years of the event, nearly $110,000 has been raised for the Thomas Shipman Youth Center through the I LOVE BBQ AND MUSIC FESTIVAL.
For more information and a complete schedule of activities, please log on to
MUSIC SCHEDULE
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